Now as I recall, brown M&Ms were discontinued a few years back. So did he see them, then realize that he could have traveled into the past? (On the other hand, it could just have been a really old bag of M&Ms that still existed for some reason.)

The two e-mails have got it; I thought it would be relatively easy because it's somewhat well-known. For those of you who don't know it, and would like to continue without google's help (Which I'm not suggesting solved it for the e-mailers =P) I'll still answer questions. This one could be quite fun to figure out for yourselves. Moving on...

Clarification: Yes, there ARE brown M&Ms

(Gourami)

So, are the "ones" edible? Yes. They're JUST brown M&MsPartly edible? Edible when they're not brown? All colours are edible.

Were there any other "ones" in the bowl? Yeah!.Had someone been avoiding taking the brown ones? No.Would he rather see ones of a different color? No, he'd just rather NOT see brown ones.

Wait...you say they're JUST brown M&Ms, but also that there are others in the bowl? Huh? Clarification: They're simply brown M&Ms, meaning of course they're edible; but not ONLY brown M&Ms. The bowl was full of M&Ms of all colours, but because there were brown ones in it, he knew something serious could be wrong.

Is an urban legend relevant? Kind of; I believe this was spread like an urban legend, but it's actually true.Could this work with any other multicolored candy? Had they decided to use other multicoloured candy, yes.Could it work with other colors of M&M? Yope.

Was he just worried because there were M&Ms in the bowl at all? Did he mistakenly think there was something wrong with them? Did he think there was something wrong with them and he was right? Series of "no"s

Relevant where the bowl sits? Not relevant where in the ROOM it sits.Had it originally held other colors too? Still does.Halloween relevant? Not at all.

Okay, so is it relevant what room it sits in? Relevant in the sense that it will broaden the scope of your questions, and probably clear up some false assumptions.What kind of building? One with walls. ;)A house? An office? Neither.

What city? What state? What country? These are irrelevant, because it could (and has, I guess) happen all over the world (not simultaneously).

Are there usually no brown M&Ms in the bowl? Yes, hopefully.Does someone typically pick out all the brown ones? Yes.If so, to eat? This isn't the intention of removing the brown ones, but I'm sure if the person who removed them was hungry for a chocolatey snack, he'd sooner eat them than throw them away.

Are the brown ones not aesthetically pleasing to him? Does he have no brown in the room? Do they remind him of something? Do they disrupt some sense of balance/continuity? Were they bad luck in the past?

Did he realize that he was waning in popularity, due to people not being as attentive to his demands? No. That's funny, though =)

(Lynne)

Was it Elton John? Nope, we've established it's a band, not solo artistWas there a code in how many M&Ms were left in the bowl? No. Possibly OTRT, beware FAs.

(Doctapeppa)

Is the substance used to color the M&M's relevant? Is brown dye number #427 relevant? Is the fact that chocolate can be brown relevant? No relevance.

(Gourami)

Are the brown ones not aesthetically pleasing to him? Haha, no.Does he have no brown in the room? Irrel.Do they remind him of something? Tasty chocolate?Do they disrupt some sense of balance/continuity? Umm..elaborate?Were they bad luck in the past? Haha, no.

Has the person in charge of the band's rider been in charge of the band's rider for a previous performance? Had the band performed for the same entity before? Was their rider fulfilled then? Did the person in charge of the band's rider purposefully fail to meet the criteria requested? Did his/her brown-M&M-filter break? Does anybody care?

Had the band ever had a criterion of having no brown M&M's in a particular bowl in a previous agreement with a different venue? If so, had that venue been successful in preventing there from being M&M's in the bowl? Did they ask for a bowl to have M&M's in it, with none of them being brown? Or did they simply request that all brown M&M's be removed from the green room prior to their arrival? Would their criteria have been met if there were no M&M's at all? If there was only one color of M&M's (and no brown ones)? Could the person in charge of fulfilling the band's rider be reasonably expected to be able to remove all brown M&M's/ provide M&M's that are not brown? Were there brown M&M's originally in the room? Was the band afraid that they had made some kind of mistake? Did they think that they were in the wrong venue? Did they think that they might have lost their minds?

Had the band ever had a criterion of having no brown M&M's in a particular bowl in a previous agreement with a different venue? Yes, this was on the rider for every show, along with a buttload of other things. What was its purpose on the rider?

If so, had that venue been successful in preventing there from being M&M's in the bowl? I'll assume you mean the brown ones. Yes, most venues provided them with a bowl of M&Ms without brown ones. If 'he' saw brown M&Ms in the bowl, though, regardless of venue, he assumed something could be terribly wrong.

Did they ask for a bowl to have M&M's in it, with none of them being brown? Yes.

Or did they simply request that all brown M&M's be removed from the green room prior to their arrival? No.

Would their criteria have been met if there were no M&M's at all? No.

If there was only one color of M&M's (and no brown ones)? Yeah, that would work, but this answer could only really create FAs. Think of it as irrel.

Could the person in charge of fulfilling the band's rider be reasonably expected to be able to remove all brown M&M's/ provide M&M's that are not brown? Of course. Though odd, it's not a difficult request.

Were there brown M&M's originally in the room? I don't know. Irrel.

Was the band afraid that they had made some kind of mistake? Umm..who is 'they'? The band? Elaborate/clarify, please.

Did they think that they were in the wrong venue? No.

Did they think that they might have lost their minds? No.

CLARIFICATION: I answered the question below (November 14, 2008 - 4:38 pm) as if it were all one question, because that seems as how it was worded. To clarify, whoever was in charge of the rider was supposed to fill a bowl with all but brown M&Ms.

Was there someone who used to take all the brown ones from the bowl? And when he saw that the brown ones are still there did he assume that this person did not come? and it could therefore be something wrong with him/her?

Was this anything to do with his eyesight? Had his eyesight just degenerated? Was he red/green colourblind and saw the green ones as brown? (My father thought that the sweaters I gave him were brown not green)

Did the band think that the band may have made a mistake? Perhaps in that they sent the rider to the wrong place? That the venue got the wrong venue? And this could have led to another thing differing from that on the rider? Something that could cause injury or death? Like they asked for cheesecake without any actual cheese because the lead guitarist is deathly lactose intolerant? And maybe the people in charge of fulfilling riders got the wrong rider? And that rider asked for cheesecake with a lot of cheese? And they are afraid the lead guitarist could die and not be able to play that sweet solo in "Even Flow"?

is the 'something bad' have to do with the person intended to eat the M&M? the person who's job it was to pick the M&M out? the concert or event that was about to happen? the band or it's success in the future?

would this be a problem if the bown was filled with another type of candy with brown in it? is it relevent that brown M&M are no longer being made? does the apparnce of brown M&M imply an older bag of candy which is bad?

Was this anything to do with his eyesight? No.Had his eyesight just degenerated? See aboveWas he red/green colourblind and saw the green ones as brown? (My father thought that the sweaters I gave him were brown not green)See answer from November 17, 2008 - 7:54 pm: "Did his/her brown-M&M-filter break? If you're asking if they were colourblind, no."

Did the band think that the band may have made a mistake? No.Perhaps in that they sent the rider to the wrong place? No.That the venue got the wrong venue? Woah, there.And this could have led to another thing differing from that on the rider? I don't understand.Something that could cause injury or death? Possibly, yes.Like they asked for cheesecake without any actual cheese because the lead guitarist is deathly lactose intolerant? No.And maybe the people in charge of fulfilling riders got the wrong rider? No.And that rider asked for cheesecake with a lot of cheese? No.And they are afraid the lead guitarist could die and not be able to play that sweet solo in "Even Flow"? Good guess, but not Pearl Jam

(Sollen)

was the bowl of M&M to be eaten? Yes.or did they perform another role? This, too.

is the 'something bad' have to do with the person intended to eat the M&M? Nothing to do with the M&Ms.the person who's job it was to pick the M&M out? Yope.the concert or event that was about to happen? Moreso this.the band or it's success in the future? No.

would this be a problem if the bown was filled with another type of candy with brown in it? Had they used a different multicoloured candy, and said on the rider "please remove all of [X colour, could be any]" it could be used for the exact purpose. I guess they liked M&Ms.

is it relevent that brown M&M are no longer being made? Irrelevant, but I'm pretty sure they are still made.

does the apparance of brown M&M imply an older bag of candy which is bad? No, see above, any multicoloured candy could have been used.

did this prove that the person picking out the colors of M&M was color blind? which caused them to realize that some aspect of the show he was suppose to set up may not be set up correectly if he can not detect the correct colors to use?

The last two questions basically pulled it together, so it's about time for a

**********SPOILER***************************** Van Halen used to have a note on their long concert rider to have a bowl of M&Ms in the dressing room with all the brown ones removed. When David Lee Roth entered the dressing room, if he saw brown M&Ms in the bowl, he would know that essential (more essential than chocolate candy)small details could have been overlooked, as well. The M&Ms were an indicator. If he saw one, there would be a line-check of the entire concert setup. As an example, people would often under-estimate the weight requirement of the stage and gear and would ruin the floors as a result.